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Over the Australia Day long weekend we went to Bright, a cute little town about a four hour drive from Melbourne. Our friends have a holiday home there and invited us to join them. Phil, along with our friend Glenda, signed up for the Alpine Classic bike ride, with Phil set to do 200 km and Glenda 250 km.

We arrived after dark Friday night so didn't get a chance to see the town then. but Saturday morning we had a look around to familiarize ourselves. The town centre was a hub of activity, with a river running through it and lots of families taking advantage of the water park next to the river. There was a French festival sharing space with the bike festival booths, which made for interesting people watching. We had lunch at the Bright Brewery and then relaxed with some books and the tennis match in the afternoon. A trip to the local Feathertop winery completed the day.

Sunday morning Phil and Glenda got an early start for their 4 am departure. Because the start was in the dar…

Last weekend Phil and his buddy went for another 7 Peaks ride, this time up Mt Buller.

I wasn't too impressed with Mt Buller and the nearby town when we explored it last year, but they convinced me to go back with them and I'm glad I did. They started off on their ride, and I drove to the base of the mountain to wait for them. I grabbed my book and found a nice quiet spot on the rocks facing the river.

The boys stopped for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then they were off for the top of the mountain. I headed up to explore a bit and wait for them at the top. The last time we went there was a mountain bike race up at the top so I couldn't really explore the summit. Instead I was stuck in the little ski village with not much to see or do. This time, without the bike race I was able to drive to the base of the summit and from there hiked the rest of the way to the top. It was a bit bizarre seeing the ski resort signs and chair lifts without the surrounding snow…

Last week I found myself in Geraldton - a 4 hour drive or one hour flight North of Perth - for work. After taking care of the work we were there for, we had a couple hours to kill before our flight back to Perth. With nothing else to do, we decided to tackle the Top 10 Things to do in Geraldton.

To be honest, I couldn't be bothered with most of the things on the list, and a couple required helicopters. The three that we did see (in some form) were plenty to give me a good feel for this funny little town.

#2: Explore the beautiful foreshore and enjoy a bbq at the beach

Well we didn't have a bbq, but we did see the foreshore. The highlight was definitely the toilets, which didn't even get a mention on the list. Dubbed Rubik's Loos, they were colourfully painted to look like Rubik's Cubes.

#1: Watch the sun rise or set from the stunning HMAS Sydney II Memorial

We didn't have the timing quite right to see the sun rise or set, but the memorial itself was a surprisin…

Last weekend we flew to Sydney to meet up with our friend. She was headed home to San Diego from Thailand and stopped here on the way. We're very glad she thinks Australia is on the way home from Asia, though considering her return flight was cancelled and she had to fly back via Canada I'm not so sure she'd think that any more :)

Saturday morning we met up with a couple Sydney friends and went for a stroll in Manly. It was a beautiful morning, warm but not scorching (unlike Melbourne that day) and the water was nice and clear. We walked along the coast to Shelly Beach and then went up onto the cliffs for a bit. Then we had morning tea at a cafe across the way.

For lunch we stopped at Four Pines Brewing and had some tucker and a few bevies. Thoroughly sedated, we said goodbye to the Sydney friends and went back for an afternoon nap.

For dinner we headed into the city and found some tasty Indian food in Darling Harbour. There was a row of nice restaurants looking out o…